Govt doubles free forex remittance limit to $250,000

The government has recently raised the permissible limit of free overseas remittance by a resident Indian from $125,000 to $250,000 per year, further liberalising the guidelines on foreign exchange management.

A resident individual in the country, including a minor, will now be allowed to freely remit up to $250,000 ($125,000 earlier) per financial year for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both, minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha informed the Lok sabha.

These include the purposes of education or for maintenance of close relatives. Further, authorised dealers may allow remittances exceeding $250,000 based on the estimate received from the educational institution abroad or a hospital abroad. For small value remittances of up to $25,000, the documentation requirement is simpler and even a PAN card is not insisted upon, he said.

Currently, as per the provisions of the income-tax rules, no certificate from a chartered accountant is required for certain remittances, including sending money to students, ie, for remittances made under RBI's purpose Code ''S0305-Travel for education (including fees, hostel expenses etc.)'' and remittance towards personal gifts and donations (RBI's Purpose Code ''S1302'').

The government has recently modified the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Rules, 2000 and the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) for resident individuals for further liberalising the existing guidelines, the minister stated.